Here’s a story about a woman who, along with a couple accomplices managed to defraud over $150,000 from people by a simple trick to gain access to their checking account information:

Hudson said the fraud involved the changing of customers’ information on their own accounts with Wells Fargo.

“(Carmichael) and her accomplices were changing the customers’ phone numbers,” he said. “They would call customer service and say they had a new phone number. Then she would go to the bank and present a check made out to her.

“The bank would then call the new number, and the phony check writer would acknowledge writing the check and would authorize that it be cashed. On most of these checks, the amounts would be from $2,000 to $7,000.”

It’s a pretty simple scam although I would hope that banks would make you answer some type of security question before allowing you to change your phone number on your bank account.

This really is a security problem with the bank. I know mine always asks me my mother’s maiden name and my date of birth, but I guess even those are not that hard to find out for someone with a bit of work.